Posted on 05/03/2009 5:11:50 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
FEDERAL COURT War hero, activist, former high-ranking Pentagon official Wade Sanders has led a life full of peril and achievement, of great highs and deep lows.
Just a few years ago, Sanders stood onstage at the Democratic National Convention as his fellow veteran, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., accepted his party's presidential nomination.
That was a high point.
Tomorrow afternoon in federal court in San Diego likely will be a low point for him.
Sanders, 69, is scheduled to be sentenced after pleading guilty in December to possession of child pornography.
He could face as much as 10 years in prison after federal agents found child pornography on several of his home computers.
Just as Sanders once stood behind Kerry, the senator is now standing behind him. In one of dozens of letters submitted on behalf of Sanders, Kerry urged U.S. District Judge Thomas Whelan to weigh Sanders' record of service and community work when making a decision on sentencing.
The hearing promises to be dramatic, with more than 50 people lining up in support of Sanders. In addition to Kerry, they include former U.S. senator and war hero Max Cleland of Georgia, who headed the Veterans Administration under President Jimmy Carter.
Also offering support are former Rep. Lynn Schenk of San Diego, a lawyer and longtime friend of Sanders; and numerous retired Navy officers, friends and relatives of Sanders. Bernie Jones, the Opinion page editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune, where numerous commentaries by Sanders have been published over the years, also wrote a letter opposing a prison term.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessandra Serano is seeking a 63-month sentence for Sanders, as well as a requirement that he register as a sex offender and be on 10 years of supervised release after he gets out of prison.
The case against Sanders started in October 2007, when an FBI agent went online to search for people sharing child pornography using a file-sharing computer network.
The agent entered a search term widely used by pornographers, and among the results returned was one that eventually linked to Sanders' home computer.
A few months later, FBI agents raided Sanders' San Diego home. In court papers, Serano said three computers seized in the raid had child pornography on them.
Sanders and his attorney, Knut Johnson, say that Sanders was downloading the images as part of a research project on the subject. In her court papers, Serano noted that at the time of the raid, Sanders never told this to FBI agents.
Serano also said no notes or other materials relating to a research project were found. In a meeting with prosecutors before he pleaded guilty, Sanders did produce three pages of handwritten notes that were undated, she said.
Sanders also is arguing that his work was a product of an obsessive-compulsive disorder he has developed. He claims it is a product of post-traumatic stress disorder, which he said is a crippling residue of his combat service.
Sanders was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart in his military career. He led a Swift boat on numerous missions in Vietnam, often coming under intense fire and harrowing circumstances.
In a 13-page statement to Whelan, Sanders talks at length about that experience and how it shaped him. There is a part of me that died in Vietnam and now, for the first time in my life I am facing that reality, it begins.
One symptom of PTSD is compulsive behavior, Johnson argued. He said Sanders became obsessed about writing an article or otherwise uncovering the source of child pornography.
In his letter, Kerry lauded Sanders' record in the war and after, when Sanders became a prominent advocate for veterans' causes.
The Wade Sanders I know is someone who has always put love of country first, Kerry wrote. He's been an advocate for his friends, his fellow veterans, his state and his country.
I agree but it didn't help Duke Cunningham much.
On second thought, maybe it shouldn’t be.
This is such a puff piece I expected the writer to put on a condom. He acts like he’s in love with this perv.
Notice that they keep referring to Max Cleland as a “hero” when he’s no such thing. He lost his limbs because he screwed up by picking up a live grenade (an American grenade no less) and admitted himself that there was nothing heroic about it.
But it didn’t stop Cleland from letting himself be exploited by the ‘Rats, and he’s never felt the need to correct these numbnutz who persist in calling him a ‘hero’.
So now he lines up with the traitor John F’in Kerry to defend a pervert who loves child porn.
Nice.
I am sure you have noticed the UN treaty “rights of a child” make “consensual” adult child sex legal. Also the hate crimes bill Democrats just passed leave open this sexual orientation argument available in the courts.
I agree with you. No excuses. But unfortunately liberals do not agree with us.
Kerry Vet Supporter Who Slammed The Swiftboat Vets Is Busted For Child Porn
Remember Wade Sanders? He was one of the band of brothersSwift Boat veterans who supported John Kerrys presidential campaign and appeared onstage at the 2004 Democratic National Convention before Kerrys reporting for duty speech.
On the campaign trail, Sanders was one of Kerrys nastiest surrogates. In August 2004, he likened the president to a trapped animal. In September, he compared Karl Rove and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth chief John ONeill to Josef Goebbels. He repeatedly referred to the president and his men as chicken hawks, an especially nasty term because it is slang for a child molester as well as a derisive term for a nonveteran who favors a strong defense.
Kerry makes his living didling the taxpayers, naturally he would support a man who does the same to future ones. Scik SOB!
They never seem to tire of that "research" excuse.
But I will say this, I have had surprises on the Internet...once, when I was trying to photoshop the image below to make fun of Sheryl Crow's remark on rat's milk
I tried to do a search on the Internet to look for a milking apparatus to cut out and paste into the rat. I did a Google search for "Milking Machine"...
Folks, I am no prude, and have seen a lot of things all over the world, but what I got back in Google nearly made me fall out of my seat with surprise, disgust and disbelief! Use your imagination, and think "OMG! WHO WOULD DO THAT???????"
I STILL have trouble believing it!
He looks a little like Richard Gere....
No it shouldn't. Just because you once served, even admirably, doesn't give you a pass to break laws or be a degenrate.
I must ask this question!
I spend multiple hours daily on my computer and NEVER have I encountered ANY child porn!
These nuts MUST have a secret network! Why hasn’t the network been busted?
In this last election, I was appalled that our country would elect a President who is:
1.) A disciple of an astoundingly and incredibly amoral and immoral author like Saul Alinsky who dedicated the pinnacle of his lifes work (Rules for Radicals) to, amongst other thngs, Satan.
2.) A close personal friend with a Black Theologian racist Reverend Wright who thinks the white people in this country invented AIDS to kill black people, donated thousands of dollars to this mans church as he sat in the pews nodding with agreement all those years before the light of the public shined for a fleeting instant on that rathole.
3.) A is a close associate of a terrorist like Bill Ayers and his like in the Weathermen who thought a reasonable price to pay would be to kill millions of Americans who wouldnt buy into their radical plans once they took power, not to mention Bernadine Dohrn who thought the sticking of a fork by murderers into the slain body of a pregnant woman was a fabulous thing. Do any of YOU out there have friends like this? Do you even KNOW anyone like this? THESE people are close friends and associates of the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Think about that for a minute.
4.) Has vowed on recorded film to gut our military
I would only believe America would vote someone like this into the Presidency when I saw it.
Well, I saw it. And after that, I would not be surprised to see a pedophile and purveyor of child pornography elected. It makes me sick to consider, but when I do, that is the result that I see. I could see our country electing someone even if they did this.
In that light, see how readily liberals stand up for this pervert. In the past, respectable people would disown him, especially politicians, and ESPECIALLY a former President. You can pray for him, and feel pity for his descent into a black perversion, but...to stand up for him and support him? It is appalling.
Simple decision: Past performance does not excuse one from unacceptable behavior. That mindset has allowed the current crop of politicians to escape responsibility for their actions. Screw the excuse makers.
And, Benedict Arnold had an illustrious military career, probably one the best during the Revolution. But, a crime is a crime, is a crime. No matter what one's previous record might be.
The fact that he had a military record of service is one reason he should have standards and morals of the highest level - to set an example. This guy should get the full measure of the law. Imagine how sick he must really be behind those medals. He needs jail time and help. He knew full well he was doing wrong. that's why he and others like him, keep these things secret. If they thought they were okay, they wouldn't hide and scour the internet.
Aren’t these the same people who tried to smear Mark Foley as a child molester so they could seize control of Congress?
That whole “Culture of Corruption” thing?
Democrats are Stalinist in their tactics to political “victory”.
Well, the media have said the same thing about John Kerry, and we know how twisted THAT is. Maybe this guy served with distinction, and maybe he didn't. We aren't very likely to find out now, with the biased media and the Pentagon working for Obama and Gates. But I gather that he didn't hesitate to jump in and join kerry in smearing the Swiftboat Vets and lying about Kerry's "distinguished" career. I'd rather trust the Swiftboat vets than one of the guys who helped smear them, frankly.
“Veteran Used In Kerry Photo-Op Convicted Of Child Porn”
Hey didn’t Kerry serve in Vietnam?
Said much better than I could say it, rlmorel. You are excellent at connecting the dots.
Sadly, in this case...:(
I can hardly believe the spectacle of a former President standing by this guy. This saddens me in ways I cannot describe.
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